Wednesday, July 31, 2013

HOW TO ACCEPT THE
AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize
blogs who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a
German word that means beloved and valued. Here are the rules for
accepting the award:

1.Thank the person who nominated you and include
a link back to their blog.

2.List 11 random facts about yourself.

3.Answer the 11 questions given to you.

4.Create 11 questions for the bloggers you
nominate.

5.Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers
to nominate and include links to their blogs.

6.Go to each blogger's page and let them know you
have nominated them.

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allright - 11 random facts, here goes:

1. my mother is an ex-communicated Jehovah's Witness. she was ex-communicated because she married my father, an athiest. the two of them brought me to the Salvation Army when i was 4 to have me baptized...they lied and said i was 5 to get me into school early (at that time you could still register to start school with a baptism certificate!). i constantly had teachers say "children...today is kymber's birthday". and i would be like - no, today isn't my birthday. it was quite confusing!

2. my parents used to tie one of my feet to the bed with a long rope because i slept-walked. my father regularly had to go driving around our community in the middle of the night to find me. my parents regularly got phone calls in the middle of the night from people 3 or 4 streets away saying that they had found me. hence the rope and being tied to the bed!

3. i was a competitive gymnast and a competitive cheerleader. i was a really good ice-dance skater but had to give it up due to gymnastics and cheerleading.

4. because i started school at the age of 4, and skipped grade 5 - i ended up being 12, almost 13, in grad 10.....NOT FUN!

5. i graduated high school when i was 15 and proceeded to college 3 provinces away. had no friends (how many 19yr olds want to hang out with a 15 yr old?!?!?!?), and worked 3 fast food jobs. sometimes i was so tired after a day of school and closing a fast food place the night before - that i showed up at McDonald's with my Arby's outfit, or showed up at Burger King with my McDonald's outfit - it was a really sh*tty 2 yrs of my life. a blur. i really don't remember much of it.

6. when i finished college with a $3,500 student loan, my father gave me nothing but hell for 2 weeks about owing the government and possibly going to jail. so i joined the military. and paid off my student loan is just under 6 months. take that Dad!

7. when i went to basic training, i was still under contract with a hair modelling agency in Halifax called SHE. i still had two hair shows to attend, in Halifax, which was near Cornwallis, my basic training base. the recruiters told me it would be no problem. well....it was a problem! i had to leave Cornwallis the first 2 weekends of basic training to attend the hair shows. my instructors were not amused to say the least! when i landed in Cornwallis, i had long, dyed red hair that were not allowed to cut until after my hair shows. all of the girls in Cornwallis were taken to get "the Cornwallis bob" but they weren't allowed to cut my hair. after my first hair show, i came back with a shoulder-length, silver-blonde layered cut. after my second hair show, i came back with a tousled, neck-length midnight-blue cut. i wasn't back in the barracks for more than 20 minutes when they took me to the CanEx barber and he gave me an odd, kinda weird short cut. such is life i guess.

8. i was 76lbs when i landed in Cornwallis and the maxi-doc told me that i better break 80lbs by the end of third week or they were sending me home. i actually lost weight in Cornwallis because a few of the instructors put me on weapons guard duty during meal times and didn't give me a relief to be able to go in and get my food. but the girls in my platoon all snuck food out of the mess and my MCpl brought food in the evenings.

9. i loved attending the Canadian Forces pilot course for Korean linguistics. i originally wanted to learn Russian, then changed it to Arabic, but i feel especially grateful that i was on the pilot course for Korean. i loved my Korean teacher and she loved me. she called me "jjak-eun-ahk-ma" - which translates into "little devil". that was my nickname and she loved calling me that! she gave me my Korean name, which is "sayt-byull" which means "special star" and it really refers to the planet Venus which is a bright orange globe in the sky in Korea during the month of October, and can be seen day or night.

10. my favourite place that i ever worked was at the Communications Centre for the Solicitor General of Canada (now PSEPC). the Solicitor General was mandated with Public Safety, in charge of the RCMP and CSIS, and in charge of establishing all policies and procedures for law enforcement in Canada. i worked with a great group of communications officers. and then 9/11 happened. some of you may remember my previous posts about us being responsible for landing over 650 planes that couldn't land in the US, in Canada. we worked round the clock and got all of those planes, and passengers safely landed. i feel that i have a really funny connection to that horrible tragedy because i was so involved....and so proud that Canada did what we did. i felt honoured to work with such caring people. they got me a barbie cake when i left there to go to FINTRAC. they were awesome!

11. i am a trained aerobics instructor and a trained ball-room dancer. after i did my trades training (QL3's) in Kingston, and then was posted to Ottawa, i was a part-time ballroom dance instructor at the Fred Astaire Dance Studios - bahahahahahah! i loved it!

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okay then, so here are Daddy Hawk's questions (if you are still reading!):

Who is your favorite author and why?i honestly couldn't name one. during different periods of my life, i used to love and have a favourite author. but then you grow and change and someone else takes their place. if i had to name a favourite poet - hands down, without question - --- the amazing T.S. Eliot.

but to be fair, i love Oscar Wilde, too. "we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars".

What is your favorite adult beverage?oh that's an easy one....the only adult beverage i ever consume is Lindeman's Bin 50, Shiraz. Which Biblical verse (or other spiritual
text quote) is the most meaningful to you and why?

there are two and they are inter-connected: Psalm 147:4 - "He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them." andIsaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on highAnd see who has created these starsThe One who leads forth their host by number,He calls them all by name..."

i like those quotes because it gives me a sense of peace, if He created and named all of the stars, then he has no problem keeping up with who we are.

What’s the coolest, bestest, most
exciting thing you’ve ever done?how about the coldest thing i have ever done? i did a polar bear dip in the arctic ocean. which is basically running to a hole in the arctic ocean, jumping in, and then jumping out screaming!!! i also did the polar bear roll - which is wearing a bathing suit and rolling down a glacier in the arctic! coolest tho would be a tie between flying a Herc-C130, flying from the arctic to greenland. the other was firing a 50cal machine gun, on what i think was a stryker combat vehicle (not sure tho - it wasn't as big as a tank but it was bigger than a hummer and had a turret! anyone have any idea what i might have ridden on?). but man - it was awesome! and so were the 2 guys helping me fire that crazy baby!What is your favorite weapon and why?

well, let's just say that it isn't an FNC1, which is what i was trained on in basic training. but i would have to say that anything that Kimber makes - teehee. those would be my faves. for obvious reasons!

What is your favorite sport in which
to participate (watching it on TV from the sofa does not count)?gardening, napping, reading, cooking, jumping into the river and then being the fastest one out while screaming like a banshee....kissing cats, kissing jambaloney, reading blogs - yep - that's about all of them!At what event (past, present, real or
fictional) would you want to be present and why?

geeze-louise - too many to name! i could be here all night and i have already been here for most of the afternoon!

What is the weirdest food combination
that you like at which others raise an eyebrow?

i had to ask jambaloney for clarification - i couldn't think of any weird food combinations. and he agreed. i don't have any. hmmmm - now i feel like i need one or two!

What is your biggest hypocrisy or
double standard?

i can't stand when people talk loud. i really can't stand it! but guess who talks really, really loudly when they feel they have a point to make? you guessed it. my bad!

What was your first car and would you
own it again?

my friend gave me his Dodge Dakota Sport for a while...to look after while he was overseas. but the very first vehicle i ever owned was a Yamaha Vino - 50cc scooter. oh i loved that baby! i drove it to work for 6yrs from March until December. i was something of a celebrity with the school kids waiting at bus stops on my drive to work. they would wave, i would honk a little "beep-beep" and they loved it. i loved it more. one of the security officers at work had this tricked-out Harley like you wouldn't believe. when i would come into work, he would say "live to ride, sista. live to ride!". i loved that scooter!

Which unfulfilled dream of yours do
you most want to achieve in your lifetime and why?

now see, this one is a hard one for me. i always dreamed of coming home, to this exact county, and be accepted by the community, and have friends and family. that dream has been fulfilled!although i always thought that i would live my life alone, because of my career and travel, and i was ok with that - still, i always dreamed i would find my soulmate. and that dream has been fulfilled!i always dreamed, once the internet came out, that i could find like-minded people with whom i could learn from and share with - and that dream has been fulfilled!i really don't have any dreams any more. i dream to have a good and prosperous life, i dream to do good, i dream to be good - but those things are already within my reach - i try to live those dreams daily. and can do so if i put my mind to it. i don't have any unfulfilled dreams. i only have dreams for the future!------okay...this has taken over an hour but maybe, like jambaloney says, i overdo things. but i feel that if someone nominates you for an award, tells you to list random things about yourself, and then asks 11 questions - well, i take that seriously!tomorrow i will do a post and nominate 11 fellow bloggers and come up with 11 questions. that gives all of you in our blogroll the chance to delete your blog so that i can't come and nominate you - bahahahahahah!thanks Daddy Hawk - this was fun. and i really appreciate your nominating me. (although jambaloney feels a little slighted - bahahahahah!)i hope that i haven't bored anyone too much - and if anyone wants clarification on anything - just yell in the comment!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

near takes your breathe away eh? i know it near takes mine and jambaloney's away!

anyway, a quick update. it's been a busy but thoroughly enjoyable weekend. as i mentioned previously, friday night was the annual roast beef dinner. we got to see our regular crew of friends plus some people that we only see a few times a year - it is always nice to see people that we don't see regularly and re-establish connections.

saturday night was our friend H's family reunion. oh what a screech! he must have had 50 family members show up from all over the place!!! and all of the family members got "screeched in" halfway through the party. for anyone interested in what being "screeched in" means (yes, Linda, i mean you!), here is a link.

basically, being "screeched in" is a newfoundland tradition (another island province in canada not far from cape breton. the people in newfoundland and cape breton are very similar except for the fact that most newfoundlanders can't swim - bahahahah! but cape bretoners and newfies have an affinity for each other that isn't found between any other 2 provinces in canada. we love our newfs and they love us capers!). anyway, the ceremony involves putting on fishing hats, pants, boots and gear, drinking a shot of screech (moonshine...and it is god-awful!), reciting where you are from and saying that you want to become a newf and then kissing a cod! it's a wonderful tradition, fun, funny as heck and many cape bretoners have been screeched in...including myself.

at the party, we had a lot of fun. we sat at our usual table with our framboise family - including our Matriarch v, our brothers D, D, and R, our sisters S and E. it was soooo great that our brother G and sister C were there...our sister C takes the p*ss out of jambaloney and it is sooo funny to watch. we also got to meet 2 more of our brothers that we had never met before - B and T - oh my - were they a freakin' hoot. they were up to do some work on V's house and brought their 2 crew members with them - those boys were so nice and fun! we were laughing our fool heads off on all of our smoke breaks together! lastly, our nephew M came down and he is precious and has my heart! he's such a good young man, finding his way in the world. he is so interested in so many things and i love to talk to him because he has these huge brown eyes, but you have to be very careful. he sucks in everything that you say and do, and then reflects very intensely. he was very proud to tell me that he was at chapter 25 in the book of Genesis.

continuing on, we got to meet a few more people that we had never met before. 2 of these people, DM and J - well, we just hit it right off with them! they have a cottage up here and love coming up but they don't do much mingling. anyway, we spent quite a bit of time talking with them and we all really got along so they invited us to their cottage on sunday for a bbq.

then there was lots more dancing and lots more laughing and then finally it was time to shut down the hall. S and jambaloney did the inventory while i cleaned all of the tables, gathered garbage and put the chairs back. the men carried all of the licquor upstairs to the locked cabinet and then we were good to go. it was a fantastic night!

the next day, we went to DM and J's at the right moment and then we all started laughing about they didn't know if we would really show up and we weren't sure if they really meant to invite us. we were worried that they might have forgotten and then we show up and they have to scramble. DM admitted that they had talked about would we really show? or not? but just in case they got the steaks out of the freezer and got ready for us.

DM and i sat and yakked at the table while jambaloney and J cooked the steaks. we brought 4 shish-kebab skewars of onions, mushrooms and 4 different coloured peppers. jambaloney was in charge of bbq'ing the shish-kebabs and J was doing the steaks. while i was talking non-stop with DM - we had so much to say and tell each other and talk about - i could hear jambaloney and J doing the same thing - non-stop talking. it's rare to feel so comfortable with people that you can just non-stop talk with - but that's how it felt with them and that's how it feels with most people here??? it is the same feeling we have with our brother G and sister C!!! i'd say that it's strange except it just feels so dang nice!

anyway - supper was delicious! the steaks were cooked to perfection, DM made a delicious caesar salad and both of them had never had shish-kebabs before but they both ate their whole skewars and said that they loved them! i was so happy. i am always nervous feeding people!

continuing on - we played music and talked for another 4 hours!!! we had been there for 7 hours and there was never a lull in the conversation!!! it was an awesome time and we look forward to meeting up with them again!

but after all of those events, dancing, partying and having so much fun - we were bush-whacked on monday. so we kind of took it easy. today we did a bunch of stuff in the garden and tomorrow we have to go to the city for an appointment - bleck! i hate the city! although our city is only 36,000 people pretty spread out - it's still the city to me!

it's time to go make supper - liver and a quinoa and pepper salad on wilted spinach...i am so looking forward to it! after supper we'll go for a walk, read, take a few dips in the hottub and then i'll be back here and reply to all of your comments on my previous posts. then it's a movie on netflix and bed. it's been a really good couple of days. i hope that you have all enjoyed your last couple of days too!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

check out this pretty sunset from last tuesday evening...just after jambaloney got home!

here it is from the other side of the front yard....soo pretty and soo fitting as my man was finally home - woohoo!

i can't even begin to explain how happy i was to see him and i haven't let go of him since! we spent the last few days doing odd jobs around the manor and spending some quality time talking. he had a fantastic visit back home! everyone was really happy to see him, he did some fishing with his mom and step-dad and enjoyed the annual general meeting at the fishing camp very much.

here's a delicious and simple pasta with a very light sauce. the sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and vinegar. at the last minute i threw in a ton of fresh, home-grown oregano and some fresh chives - deelish!

and another beautiful sunset!

last evening was our community annual roast beef dinner - yummeh! it was a huge success and we made some money for our community centre. we had roughly 96 guests but a third of those were our friend H's family members - he's having a family reunion and brought all of his family out here for a party tonight. H and his wife S don't live here full-time, but they are planning to move here soon. we are looking forward to them moving here as they are very good people!

jambaloney and i served and cleared tables and then helped clean up afterwards. jambaloney is a king when it comes to serving and clearing. he can serve 5 times as many tables as anyone else and nobody can clear tables, nor run up and down the stairs as fast or as many times. he makes me very proud at these events. and if he didn't bust down tables and re-set the hall afterwards as fast as he does - we'd all still be there!!!

how about some fresh peas, fresh mint and my first italian sweet pepper - woohoo! we are going to be swimming in peppers this year! with some fresh mint tea.

i pulled my first garlic the other day and look at that baby! fresh-grown garlic is soooo much tastier than dried. we will eat fresh for the rest of the summer, dry whatever is left and then try to grow some more in the greenhouse in the fall. we love garlic!

and some cold pasta salad with carrot, broccoli, peas and fresh mint. with lime/chili dressing.

well that's my update for now. tonight we are going to our friend H's family reunion party at our community centre. it will be nice to meet up with all of our friends and party. hope all of you are well.

Monday, July 22, 2013

i am missing my baby. yes, i am a big whiny baby. but, sorry if this is TMI, i just got my period yesterday, i haven't slept in 2 days, nor eaten. and i had to go to a party and be all cool and stuff. i was successful.

then i crashed for only 4 hours, probably because of the booze. but then i had to get up and make it through a 1 and half hour drive to the funeral home. for my friend. and i survived like a trooper. then i had to look at my beautiful friend laid out in a casket. i wish i could have done her hair and makeup. she was so particular and always looked so "done". i wish i could have done her up the way she would have wanted.

then i had to look at pics of her over her life. i have only known her for 2 years but let me tell you that when she told me stories, and screeched through most of them, my heart was happy! i won't tell you about the episode when she talked about crab and how much she hated it...jambaloney still imitates it to this day and it is NOT pg13. oh my goodness she had a mouth on her.

i am dead tired. i need to eat something but i did eat some canteloupe earlier...i promised jambaloney. i don't want to take a migraine pill because it will knock me senseless...and i have cats to feed, birds to feed and plants to water tomorrow. and probably a million more cat plates to wash!

sweet Sandy, sweet Jane. Practical P, Harry - if any of you are still up, please put up a post about anything so that i can have something to read? thank you.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

i went to our friends' son's graduation party. i represented. i probably drank too much. my friend B made up some lobster. he gave me a piece. it was the best darn lobster i have ever eaten. he offered me some more. i just couldn't eat. i told him i'd get some later. EPIC FAIL! all of the boys at the party cleared that lobster out in minutes. oh i could just kick myself in my own head!!!!

i came home and crashed. got up this morning to 10million dirty cat plates and just left them. i had to get ready for the wake/funeral.

my friend S came and picked me up. it was a long drive on a very hot day and we were both dressed in full-length, head-to-toe black. i am sooo glad that we went. we got to spend time together and talk, like really talk.

we got to the funeral home. i think that we broke protocol or something. when we got to the funeral home, there were all kinds of people standing outside. we didn't know any of them, they all kind of looked at us funny, but we were on a mission to show respect for our friend.

so we walked in to the funeral home and started wandering around a bit. then one of the director's asked us who we were visiting. we told him and he seemed kinda strange, wringing his hands and stuff. he showed us where to go. we go into the room and no one is there?!?!??

our friend was laid out beautifully...there were flowers everywhere but she also had individual roses in her casket, lining the side of it. there were 2 displays of pictures of her, her family and her husband, C.

we couldn't understand why no one was inside???

so we left to head back to the parking lot, with all of the people standing outside staring at us some more. when we got to the parking lot, C, and his family had just arrived. he gave me the biggest hug. he and i were both crying and smiling and crying. so was S. he had me and S hold his hands and we walked him to the big group of people standing outside. he told everyone that we were his Framboise friends, that N's Framboise friends had come to show their respect. i was really glad that we went.

once he met up with each of the people standing outside - then he went in to the funeral home. and then the people followed. woops. i guess you are supposed to wait for the family to arrive first???

anyway, we went back in and mingled a little. but we could tell that it really was all his family and N's family. so we left and decided not to go to the funeral service. we felt a little out of place.

but we showed our respect to our friend, N, please rest in peace, and please never lose that screeching laugh. heaven will love it!

and we were there to show our support to C. his Framboise friends.

highlight of the day: our friends J and his wife I also went to the wake but not the service. the service was held in a town called New Waterford. that's where J grew up and people there are still telling stories about his antics! anyway, we hugged and he called me "buddy" at the wake, but when the four of us were leaving, he said "whattaya think buddy? this is my old stomping grounds!". then he laughed in a way that only a 6'5, huge gorgeous blonde man can laugh. i swear he's from texas!!!

anyway, i got home, dead-tired, so hungry i could cry. and finally - the phone rang and it was my baby!!! he was all full of p*ss-and-vinegar because he had met up with his dad, had gotten to the camp and had been out fishing. they lost the power there for 2 days from a freak storm. they didn't think the power would be back for a week. and his mom and stepdad were hosting the party after the agm today.

but he and his stepdad were out fishing last evening, in the dark, and the power came back on. the agm meeting went really well and people were very happy with his fishing report. i could say more but i don't want to be braggy. he did really good and i am super proud of him. for the party they made a million pizzas in his stepdads cobb oven. needless to say, that went over really well. the party had just finished when he called.

he's getting ready to head out on the lake again. he loves fishing and he loves that lake. him and his stepdad caught 3 bass which they had for supper last night.

i am just glad to hear his voice, know that he is having a super time and enjoying his vacation! i gotta go wash cat plates now - ugh.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

i have talked to my man several times - he had a great time with his buddies and PioneerPreppy, strippers and Windsor was not involved - bahahahahahah!

here is a pic of our last breakfast together. it's fresh-picked peas, green onion and a couple of sad looking radishes. and fresh mint. we dumped a load of my lime/chili sauce on it and it was deevine.

tonight is our friends' sons graduation party. they are B and C, our Fourchu family. they were so worried that he wouldn't graduate. but he did...and now they are having a big party for him. they are soooo proud of him! i am excited to attend, already shaved the bottoms of my legs - sorry if that is TMI! but i am still walking around in a daze with jambaloney being gone. there's that, and then the fact that i just found out that my friend, N, just died on wednesday. she was diagnosed with lung cancer just this past april. the only good thing to say is that she was fine right up to the day she died.

my friend, N, was a hoot. oh my goodness did she have a screech of a laugh. and there was absolutely nothing genteel about her...except her always perfect hair, makeup and nails. at one of the last events that i saw her at - we were out smoking together and she said that we were special friends. then she pointed her finger - AND cigarette right at me, right in the face - and she said "you just know with some people, kymber. you just know right away. i got my eyes on you gurl". then she laughed her fool head off. i said back to her without skipping a beat, and pointing my cigarette in her face, "N. it's true. you just know. and i got my eyes on you gurl!".

my goodness - all i can really remember is that she had such a laugh. it was so genuine. and she was a real person in every sense of the word. she loved life and she laughed at everything. i will never forget the sound of her laughter.

i am so worried about her husband C. i haven't gotten a hold of him yet. but tomorrow is her wake. my friend, S, is going to take me. so it is with a heavy heart that i am going to my friends' sons graduation party this evening. i wish it weren't so. i wish jambaloney was here. ugh. ya, i am a big baby!

in the interest of trying to lighten things up, here is some dried oregano the me and jambaloney cut and dried the other day. that is enough oregano for a year...but we still have 3 plants going full-tilt boogy!

he was so crazy to dehydrate some oregano. i am so glad that we did it before he left.

Friday, July 19, 2013

he's gone back home to ottawa...that's where he was born and bred. a couple of side-trips to england and various provinces in canada...but ottawa is his home. that's where all of his family are.

he goes back once a year for an annual general meeting at a fishing camp that belonged to his grandfather. this year he wrote up a report about the fish in the various lakes. he knows everything about his grandfather's fishing camp...which actually now belongs to his mother.

he loves that lake....how appropriate that it is named "Heart Lake". we visited that lake twice when we lived in ottawa - we have such good memories of our time on the lake.

he will visit up with some old work buddies that he loves this evening, visit his dad tomorrow and then head out to the lake. he will probably do some fishing with his stepdad Ted and his mom. then he will attend the annual general meeting. and then more time fishing with his mom and stepdad and probably his sister too. his brother is the one picking him up at the airport.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

it has beeen waaaay too long since i posted, but it seems like only yesterday.. we have been crazy sick/on our butts with black fly bites - the worst year yet!! we can't wear the bug nets when it is too hot and when we step outside for "a couple of minutes" they are on us... deet works but it wears off....

anyway - first off - here is a nice sky pic! on the river when the fishing happens ;-) this is an all-fishing post covering a few weeks...

so pp and sandy can fight over the trout, but leave a few for the rest woodja??

first day of fishing - april 16 - i hadn't been down in a while and the canoe got flipped in a windstorm - lotsa water!!

dump and get it in the water - pretty late spring this year - all brown grass from last year..

beautiful day on the river..

but still a little cool - snow left over from the march 30 snowstorm..

i got skunked first day - but the canada geese didn't care - lol!

april 23 - one single trout - it was delish!!

then the greenhouse got in the way and took over our lives!!! next fishing was may 30 - and the water has warmed up a bit - limit of 5 per day - here they are!

there is the greenhouse coming back up the road - almost as big as the house!!!

back down for another trip june 07...

wild strawberry blossoms...

and nice late spring green!!!

beautiful calm waters..

a big trout...

and 4 more - no drooling sandy/pp!!!

june 17 - misty and mellow!

soooo inviting!!!

another big trout!

parked for a pic...still hazy...

but the sun is peeking out...

a couple of smaller trout to add to breakfast!!

june 25 - wild purple irises are out!!!

warming up in a hurry - these are hot days!!!

now it is allllll sun - off with the coat!

calm and serene - but the water is still cool...

enough for these babies - another 5pack!!!

june 28 - days are still very long - there is light on the horizon @ 3:45 and still there @ 20:00 hours - the water is getting warmer...

and the trout harder to find - one nice one though.. next time, i have to try a couple of deep pools...

Sunday, July 14, 2013

here's a beautiful rainbow that jambaloney got a pic of a few mornings ago. he was out screeching at the ravens to get off the roof. they just squawked and jumped up and down harder. he pointed and clicked. so beautiful! minus all the raving squawkings that had us up by about 4am - arghghghghgh!

this is me and my gorgeous brother B in our fire truck. it says L'Ardoise on it because we bought it from the town of L'Ardoise for 10 bucks! he was teaching me and jambaloney all of the different parts. he's qualified in using/running it and he has been doing training sessions with it. we really appreciate that! he is going to teach us everything about that truck and have us both driving it in no time!

my brother G and sister C were tearing down a shed on their land, then planning to burn it and a bunch of brush and needed a permit (sorry CC!), and a licensed member of the VFD had to be there with the truck. much fun, and many black fly bites were enjoyed by all. i got sick out of my mind for about 4 days!!!

next up - our brother G and sister C were up to visit for a week and to put new siding on their house. our brother B and our other brother D, as well as jambaloney helped out. i helped my brother D make the cuts in the siding - it needs to be very precise measurements! but here are my 2 amazing brothers and jambaloney acting like goofs. they work so well together and can get an amazing amount of work done in a short time. i love them all!

and i find it incredibly refreshing that my brother G yelled "come on kymber. we're going to ganormans!". i will explain how people are called what they are called here in another post. it's hard to learn unless you grew up here. i was going to need my new work boots for this job! see my new work boots below that my sister C gave to me. awesome eh?

she also got me some new slippers on this trip up. but they aren't slippers - they are more like little fancy dancing slippers and they come with a little gold bag. i will only use them at dances - they are just too fancy! but anyway, on the drive out to ganormans, my brother G called me sister for the first time. and then when we got to ganorman's, he called me sister a few more times. holy eff that felt so good!

at ganorman's i met R. i told him my name and told him where i lived and he said "wait. i think i know your husband. he gave me a lift from sydney (the city) a few weeks back." i gave him a big giant hug and told him that my husband had nothing but good words to say about him and he told me that my husband was a very courteous gentleman...i love hearing words like that.

anyway - some background on all of these brothers and sisters that we are accumulating like royal dalton china. my brother B...he was there when jambaloney got sucker-punched in the head. when i fell down crying - he and his wife, C, and his mother V were there to console me in seconds. but he was the first. and when we were doing the siding and i was getting eaten alive by black flies and deer flies - he kept waving his hat and saying "honey. you have to go in. you can't get any more bites". he always hugs me with the most warmest hugs. i love my brother B!

i love my brother G because he has spent an entire career in the canadian forces and the man knows everything about everything. i love him most tho, because of the talks that me and my sister, C, his wife, have about him. she sings his praises to high heaven and i gotta admit - based on what she says - the man is a second Jesus. yep - walks on water and the whole she-bang.

do you have any idea what it feels like to finally have family that truly care about you? i do. it is the most wonderful feeling in the world.

Edited - woops - that's how sick i am. i didn't even mention that getting eaten alive at G and C's, plus being out around here in the garden and getting eaten alive - yo dudes - i have been sick for over a week! it's truly awful! but i am on the mend and hopefully have been able to hit up your blogs at least once or twice. give me a few days eh?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

the sunrises, sunsets and skies in general are always so beautiful here. me and jambaloney sometimes spend hours just staring at the sky.

anyway, why i am jealous as oh heck? well, a hundred years ago, or so it seems, when i was involved with the cpn and apn, i met some really good friends. SciFiChick and i were like sisters. she and i were in almost the same place in regards to our prepping. i have talked about her many times on this blog. and if she isn't on your "must read" list, she should be. anyway, her and i had a bit of a "prepper" crush on 2 ladies who talked the talk, and walked the walk. that would be Phelan and MMpaints. i have spoken about both of those great ladies on this blog many times.

anyway, just this weekend past, SciFiChick had some visitors. holy moly - she had Phelan, Phelan's husband and 2 sons, as well as our own sweet Sandy and her husband come for a visit!!! they actually all got to meet! i have it on all of their trusted authority that they are all fantastic people! i also have it on good authority that Phelan is as awesome as she seems, that sweet Sandy is the sweetest person ever, SciFiChick is an absolute darling, Mars makes the best ribs on the planet and that everyone was very happy to meet up. you can read SciFiChick's post about meeting here, sweet Sandy's here and Phelan's here.

ya, i am jealous that they all got to meet but i am also very happy for them. it's a wonderful thing to finally meet people who are already your friends. and they have all been there for each other, and for me, all this time. they are a great group of people who can be counted on through thick and thin!

another great person is our friend mmpaints. although she has had a pretty tough couple of weeks, you can read more about it here, she is going to reach her farm project goal through the help of very kind strangers and friends. you can check her progress here. i thank all of my friends who helped out, not only the people who donated, but the people who shared her story. you are very generous people and it makes me feel proud to call you all friends.

up next - mist rising off of Strachan's brook. the mist rises like that when the water is warmer than the air. it's really cool.

oh...did you notice all of the beautiful roses on the rose bush? the rose bush is really putting out roses this year - so beautiful to look at!

About Framboise Manor

Framboise Manor is our Bug-Out Location (BOL) that we have been living in since December 2010. As can be seen by the above picture - calling it simply a "Manor" doesn't do it justice - we bet you think it is more like an "Estate", eh?

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Who Are We?

we are jambaloney and kymber. here's a pic of us below...we look very happy and content. it's because we really are!

About jambaloney

(he's only 23 in this pic...he has 20+years of additional muscle now...if you can believe it!)

kymber here and talking about jambaloney.

i've always called him my angel. my rock. my best half. the best part of what i have always wanted to become.

he has a soul as big as the biggest mountain, he is strong, he is in incredible physical condition, he is 51 and yet most people think he is under 40. he is humble and modest, charming, gorgeous and will help anyone with anything at anytime. he never grumbles and only every now and again complains or is a tiny bit cranky (nothing that a hug can't fix!). he can cut both sides out of 70 tires in minutes, build raised beds from scrap wood that he drags out of the forest, weedwhack 800ft of our road down to the river, and haul more wheelbarrows of dirt, mulch, rocks and seaweed than is probably medically-advised. he's learned how to braid, make bread and no one makes better rice - not even the chinese. he supports my every, crazy endevour. he went 44 years without a driver's license and got his license after being trained by my crazily-wonderful french canadian friend in 2 weeks. she never stopped talking the whole time. in french.

he has biked everywhere his entire life, at one job he biked 24km EACH WAY. that's to and from! 24km to work AND 24km from work! oh and just accidentally has an honours degree in philosophy.

i believe that he is Our Lord's most beautiful and perfect creation. but i might be biased. he can very accurately shoot a ben pearson cougar re-curve from both the left and right. and his aim is dead on.

he is bow-legged and only 5'7", but has the most incredible eyes. and a tiny mole on his upper lip. he writes the most romantic "insta-poems". he tells me he loves me several times a day. he calls me "babe" and "honey". and he means it.he loves hot sauce and spicey things like cayenne and banana peppers, he buys (or now picks) me flowers, he left a lucrative, high-paying IT job and his family to follow me here to this remote little island. he builds me shelves and washes all of our laundry with me by hand.

oh and he was baptized Anglican. and was an alter boy. sheesh. somehow, through my intervention, i am turning him into a pagan-christian-fundamentalist-confuscian. look, even i can't figure that out!

the name jambaloney is a nickname that i gave him over 10 years ago. he still uses it. he can be reached at "jambaloney@gmail.com". he loves comments or emails. and he loves me.

if i were given the opportunity to wish one thing for the world - i would wish that every woman on the planet had a jambaloney. i know that i could save the world this way. i have friends who have asked me to clone him. i am trying. believe me, i am trying. one day i will perfect the science involved, and when that happens, i promise all of you a jambaloney.

i love him more than...breathing, lobster, boiled dinner, fresh bread out of the oven, bugging out, singing back up for Madonna (ok...i made that one up!), fresh sheets on the bed, a glass of red wine after a long day, sunflower seeds, lavender, growing my own potatoes, T.S. Eliot, dancing, my babies (who are really just cranky old cats!) and the Bible.

i love him more than i love Framboise Manor. and i really love Framboise Manor.

About kymber

(this pic might seem odd. trust me, it's not. 20 yrs ago kymber went shopping with a girlfriend from the military and bought this dress. then she hooked up with that girlfriend recently. they caught up through email and one day kymberz friend mentioned that specific dress. kymber said she still had it (kymber still has her prom gown for crying out loud!). the friend did not believe it. so we had to take a pic of kymber wearing the 20yr old dress for her friend. kymber always likes to add accessories...and well, we had the bunny ears laying around. ya know, cuz everyone always has pink bunny ears laying around. ok, that's it...i am out of here! jambaloney)

what can i say about kymber?? A LOT!!most of it will have to wait for blog entries ‘cuz i just don’t have enough space here to do her justice…

so i’ll have to do my best… first and foremost, kymber is my partner and i will love her forever. she is the best partner anyone could ever have, i am one lucky guy!! she is 46, she is sweet as can be, smart as a whip, super cute, exceptionally feminine, strong as an ox, honest, kind, empathetic, wise, an amazing dancer, a master wit in speaking and writing….i could go on..i will!

at 5’ 1’’ she packs a wallop – a true force of nature -she is a master gardener and chef and spent 10 years in the Canadian Military – she has done 2 tours of Alert (the north bloody-cold pole). she is a UN-certified Korean linguist and spoils our 2 cats rotten. she also spent 12yrs working in the federal government, as a communications analyst at SolGen (now PSEPC) and Fintrac. she loves nature in the true sense of the phrase..the wildflowers, insects and birds here at framboise manor keep her entranced and captivated for hours.

anyone who is her friend knows that she will stop at nothing to help and heal, dedication and loyalty are an integral part of who she is and she is dead serious about anything she puts her mind to. yet she maintains the most delicate touch and a smile on her face always, never afraid to live and love no matter where and when.

she is the most genuine human being i have ever met! and she has encouraged me to embark on the most crazy and exciting adventure i could imagine… thank you babe - i sooo love you!!!